Super Bowl Pick

Does anyone think I'm going to pick against the Steelers (not often that I root against Cardinals in football)? I went 7-3 in the other playoff games, so I'm pretty confident the Steelers will win. It's not that I think the Cardinals can't win. To begin with, Hines Ward won't be 100%. If Ben Roethlisberger plays like he did in his last Super Bowl, Arizona probably will win. You certainly can't argue about how the Cardinals went through the playoffs. I wasn't surprised that they beat Atlanta and Philadelphia at home (I picked those), but going to Carolina and winning big was a shocker. They have a decent defense that gave them a lift early in those games by holding just enough so the offense could get on the board. And the offense has great weapons. I've always been a Kurt Warner fan, and I think Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the league. In fact, if you were in the fantasy league, I said so in the week 11 report (NSFW - but scroll past the other naked chicks until you get to the one showing her butt in front of a flag to see the comment). And Anquan Boldin isn't far behind. Steve Breaston is a top third receiver. The running game isn't too good. But I do think Ken Whisenhunt is a better coach than Mike Tomlin even if his team doesn't win this game. In fact, I thought Whisenhunt should have been promoted to replace Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. Nothing against Tomlin, but it's a lot more impressive to take perennial loser Arizona to the Super Bowl in your second year than to take over a team that was two years removed from their last Super Bowl like Tomlin did.

Still, I like the Steelers chances. Philly and Carolina had good defenses, but nothing like what the Steelers will dial up. Stopping Fitzgerald will be the key, but the Steelers have been good at taking away the other teams main option. And against Carolina and Philly, the Cardinals jumped out to a lead early. That means the Panthers stopped running and Jake Delhomme self-destructed. Against Philly, the defense wore down and the Eagles made a late run to take the lead. I don't see Arizona being able to get that kind of lead against Pittsburgh. So, when Pittsburgh's offense makes their typical second half surge, it will be manageable. I do find Pittsburgh's offense to be rather disappointing at times, but I was encouraged by the playoffs. For one, the run looked great against San Diego with Willie Parker healthy. And they didn't abandon it against Baltimore even though they didn't move much on the ground. But Arizona's defense isn't Baltimore's. I think Pittsburgh can run against the Cardinals. And while Ward being out is problematic, Santonio Holmes is beginning to justify his high draft status. It would be nice if Limus Sweed could get open and catch the ball. Getting open is pointless if you keep dropping sure touchdown passes. I don't see Roethlisberger completely self destructing so I'm taking Pittsburgh by 10. But if the lead is less than a touchdown late and Arizona has the ball, I will be sweating bullets.

And it's not related, but I just want to say RIP to the piano man in this clip.